Cooling system for dental apparatus



Oct. 21, 1958 P. J. TASCHER COOLING SYSTEM FOR DENTAL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 8. 1953 I l W INVENTOR: AUL J. TASGHER ATTORNEY Oct. 21, 1958 P. .1. TASCHER COOLING SYSTEM FOR DENTAL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8. 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR:

PAUL 'J. TA5HER "MM/ 351i ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,857,493 COOLING SYSTEM FOR DENTAL APPARATUS Paul J. Tasciier, Glen Cove, N. Y. Application September 8, 1953, Serial No. 378,809

1 Claim. (Cl. 200-86) My invention relates to devices controlling the flux of coolants to the field of a dental operation. The great advantages of the application of coolants during dental operations, for example, reduction of pain, protection of tooth substance from damage by excessive heat, better efficiency of tools, reduction of the wear of tools, possibility of quicker operation and cleaning of the field of operation, are known. Excessive, premature or unnecessaryapplication of coolant, however, has considerable disadvantages. If the flux of the coolant starts before the outlet is in the mouth of the patient, instruments and clothings may be wetted. If the coolant flows into the mouth prematurely, continuously or excessively, it obstructs the visibility of the field of operation unnecessarily, may hurt the patient by excessive cooling and causes frequent interruptions of the operation in order to have the patient expectorate.

Objects of my invention are to avoid these disadvantages, to make possible start and interruption of the coolant supply at any time deemed fit by the dentist, and to provide a coolant control for this purpose which the dentist can operate without interrupting the operation.

Other objects are to open the flux of coolant with a pedal, to close this flux when the pedal returns into its position of rest, to return the pedal into the position of rest automatically when the pressure on the pedal ceases, to position the pedal close to the lever controlling the motor of the dental unit in such a manner that the same foot can be held in a position during a dental operation in which the foot is ready for operating the motor control and the pedal, to hinge the pedal to a body adapted to be secured to the motor controller, and to provide this body with a shape adapted to receive the bottom or lower portion of the motor controller whereby the pedal can be easily and separably secured to the motor controller and can be turned relatively to the same between a position where the pedal is near to the motor control lever and a position where the pedal is far from this lever.

Further objects are to provide controlling means which react to the pedal instantaneously, to make possible a selection between difierent coolants by a more or less extended movement of one pedal, and to use the same pedal for simultaneous application of a plurality of coolants when desired.

Still other objects are to drain a liquid coolant back from its outlet when the operation is finished or inten rupted, thereby to prevent afterdrip obscuring the visibility of the field of operation, to prevent coolant from dropping on instruments, clothing. hands and so on, when the operating handpiece is taken out of the mouth of the patient, and to reduce this drainage to a very slow stream or trickle whereby a short interruption of the operation will not preclude a substantially instantaneous resumption of the coolant supply.

Still further objects are to obtain these results with simple and reliable means, with valves and switches of available types, thereby to provide a coolant control that can easily, quickly and inexpensively be made, and to avoid any interference with the convenient and usual operation of other mechanisms of the dental operation unit.

Still other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of an exemplifying embodiment of my invention, from the appended claim and from the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows a top view of a motor controller provided with an attachment according to my invention, electric cables being omitted.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the same motor controller and the same attachment, seen from the left side in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of a broken off portion of this attachment, taken along the line 3--3 in Fig. 2, the motor controller being omitted.

Fig. 4 shows a side view of a coolant duct system according to my invention, pipe lines being shortened for the sake of more condensed representation, electric cables being omitted.

Fig. 5 shows a diagram of an electric circuit system according to my invention, this circuit system connecting the attachment shown in Figs. 1 to 3 with the duct system shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, numeral 1 indicates the substantially cylindrical housing of a motor controller of the type commonly used in dental operation units. This controller can be regulated by either of two levers 2 which project from slots in the housing 1 laterally and can be turned by the toe of the dentists foot along horizontal arcs.

A body 4 has the shape of a cup with a cylindrical inner space just wide enought to receive a lower portion or the bottom of the housing 1. The height of the housing 1 is sufficiently small to allow free movement of the levers 2.

A pedal 5 is connected to the body 4 by hinges 6 which have a horizontal axis whereby the pedal can swing vertically. In its position of rest shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the pedal extends from the vicinity of the upper rim of the body 4 laterally in about horizontal and slightly outward and downward curved direction. Along the periphery of the body 4, the pedal extends along an are about as large as the are along which a lever 2 is movable whereby this body can be attached to the motor controller in a position in which the pedal is within reach of a foot that operates a lever 2 whatever the position of this lever may be. This position of the pedal is shown in the drawing.

The pedal operates the coolant control as will be described later. If the dentist desires to work without pedal-controlled coolant, he may turn the body 4 with the motor controller about one hundred and eighty degrees and control the motor with the lever 2 which is opposite to the pedal 5. Or the pedal may be removed entirely after the pintles of the hinges 6 have been taken out of their seats.

The bottom of the body 4 has a lateral extension 7 which, seen from above, may have substantially the same outline as the pedal 5. A spring 8 is affixed to the lower example, there are two switches 11 and 12 arranged symmetrically with respect to the rod 9. These switches are preferably of the well known push-button type which closes an electric circuit when a button 13 is pushed. The operation of these buttons may be derived from the pedal in the following manner:

The rod 9 has tooth-like projections, for example two projections 14 and extending to the side where the switch 11 is positioned, and a projection 16 extending to the side where the switch 12 is positioned. These proj e ctions move together with the rod 9 and the pedal 5. The button 13 of the switch 11 reaches into the path .of the projections 14 and 15. The button 13 of the switch 12 reaches into the path of the projection 16. The projections 14, 15 and 16 are so arranged along the rod 9 that, when the pedal is moved down, first the projection 14 engages and pushes the button of the switch 11. Further movement of the pedal then brings the projection 16 into operative engagementwith the button of the switch 12 while the projection 14 snapping over the button of the switch 11 releases the latter button. Still further movement of the pedal causes the projection 15 to operate the button of the switch 11 again while the longer projection 16 remains in pushing engagement with the button of the switch 12. Hence, the pedal has three distinct operative positions which follow each other when the pedal is depressed, a first position operating switch 11 only, a second position operating switch 12 only and a third position operating both switches simultaneously.

Each switch serves for the control of a ditferent coolant. For example, switch 11 controls the flux of water, and switch 12 he flux of air. However, I desire it understood that any other liquid or gaseous coolants may be used instead of or in addition to water and air, and that my invention is also applicable to the control of the delivery of any other flowing material to the field of operation, for example, for the control of the flux of a liquid abrasive suspension to be used as an adjunct to dental drilling with stones and burs.

The shown embodiment comprises a duct which conveys water from a warm water reservoir of known structure in the direction of the arrow 17 in Fig. 4 through a tube or pipe 18 and a valve 19 into a pipe 21 from which the water flows in the direction of the arrow 22 to the dental hand piece (not shown) or to the field of operation. A faucet 23 is inserted in the pipe 18 and allows to adjust the pressure of the water and the quantity of water passing through the duct per time unit. Preferably, a waste or drainage duct branches oif the pipe 21 or off a T-piece 2 inserted in this pipe. This waste duct leads through a pipe 25, a valve 26, and a downward extending pipe 27 and terminates in an outlet positioned in a cup-shaped waste receptacle 28. This outlet is preferably the very narrow exit opening of a channeled needle 29 of the type used for injections, which needle is afiixed to the lower end of pipe 27.

The shown embodiment further comprises a duct supplied with air from a pressure air receptacle of known structure in the direction of the arrow 31. This air passes through a pipe 32, a faucet 33, a valve 34 and a pipe 35 which conveys the air in the direction of the arrow 22 to the dental hand piece.

If it is desired to provide an additional coolant control for operation by the patient, such a control may be independent from the ducts described and may have any suitable structure. Or the additional control may use a duct branching oif the air duct described above. For example, the faucet 33 may be of the well known three way type, one of its ways connecting with a pipe 36 from which the branching ofi' duct leads to a hand-operated valve 37 and farther through a pipe 38 into a T-piece 39 inserted in the pipe 35. The valve 37 is mounted on a clamp 41 adapted to be secured to a side arm of the patients chair. In this manner, the air duct has two parallel branches, one controlled by the valve 34 and the other by the valve 37. The faucet 33 allows optional use of either branch or simultaneous use of both branches.

The valve 19, 26 and 34 may be mounted in any suitable manner, for example within the column which forms a main part of any dental operation unit. The valves 19 and 34 are of the type which is closed the normal .or rest condition and opens by operation. The valve 26 is of the type which is normally open and closes by operation. The valves 19 and 26 are operated simultaneously whereby always one of them is open while the other is closed. The operation of the valves 19, 26 and 34 is derived from the movement of the pedal 5 so that this pedal, in the above mentioned first operative position, operates the valves 19 and 26, in its second position the valve 34 and in its third position all these valves. A simple, reliable and instantaneous operation of the valves is preferably made possible in the following manner:

The valves 19, 26 and 34 are of the well known solenoid type which is operated by electric current. The valves 19 and 26 are positioned in series in a circuit 42 (Pig. 5) which is interrupted or closed by the switch 11. The circuit 42 originates from a pair of poles 43 which may be incorporated in well known manner in a plug adapted for connection with an electric current source, for example with the tap holes of an electric network or of a panel of the dental operation unit connected to a network. The valve 34 is inserted in a circuit 44- which may originate from the same poles 43 and includes the switch 12.

When the pedal is in its inoperative position of rest, the switches 11 and 12 are open, the valves 19 and 34 are closed, and no coolant is supplied in the direction of the arrow 22. In its first operative position, the pedal closes the switch 11 by means of the rod projection 14 whereby the circuit operating the valves 19 and 26 is closed, the valve 26 closes, and the valve 19 opens, supplying water through the pipe 21. In corresponding manner, the pedal, in its further operative positions, opens the supply of air through the valve 34 or the supply of water and air through the valves 19 and 34.

The dentist can easily and quickly change the position of the pedal, interrupt the supply of a coolant whenever the operation does not require the same, resume the supply when he expects the need for it, and thereby to dose the coolants in the best possible manner without interrupting the dental operation. Whenever the water supply is interrupted, the waste valve 26 is opened whereby the liquid is drained in a direction opposite to the arrow 22, and no liquid will flow out of the pipe 21 in the direction of this arrow. Due to the narrow terminal 29 of the waste pipe line, however, the drainage is very slow whereby the pipe 21 will not be emptied appreciably during a short time, and the supply of liquid can be resumed substantially instantaneously after any short interruption of this supply.

I desire it understood that my invention is not confined to the particular embodiment shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that my invention may be carried out in other ways within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of my invention as it is obvious that the particular embodiment shown and described is only one of the many that may be employed to attain the objects of my invention.

Having described the nature of my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A multiple switch assembly for use in conjunction with a dental unit of the type having a conventional motor controller which has a foot-operated lever movable in a horizontal arc, said switch assembly comprising in combination a body upon which said dental unit is mounted, a pedal hinged to said body on a horizontal pivot and underlying the foot lever of the motor controller in all positions of the latters normal path of movement, two electric switches, said pedal being swingable from a position of rest successively into a plurality of operative positions, a spring urging said pedal into said position of rest, said pedal in one of its operative positions activating one of said switches, in another of its operative positions activating another of said switches, and in a third operative position activating both said switches simultaneously, said motor controller being so positioned upon the assembly as to be accessible to an operators toe when his foot is upon the hinged pedal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hinman July 5, 1904 Speiden Mar. 28, 1916 Metcalf Jan. 9, 1917 Dederer Feb. 19, 1918 Wheeler June 18, 1918 Farmer Oct. 15, 1918 Clark Apr. 5, 1921 6 Daugherty June 2, Fraser Aug. 14, Norman Mar. 5, Nicholas Mar. 9, Green June 18, Bordelon Dec. 18, Framheim Apr. 13, Bubb Aug. 21,

FOREIGN PATENTS Austria Feb. 25, 

